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(Effective as of September 2014)

IMPORTANT – THIS IS A LEGAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU, ON BOTH AN INDIVIDUAL END USER BASIS AND WHEN ACTING AS AGENT FOR AND ON BEHALF OF AN ENTITY, NAMELY, YOUR EMPLOYER (referenced herein with “you” or with “your”) AND THE AMERICAN ALLIANCE OF MUSEUMS (referenced herein as “AAM”). YOU SHOULD READ CAREFULLY THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS CONTAINED IN THIS TERMS OF USE AND SERVICES AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) BECAUSE THEY GOVERN YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE WEBSITE LOCATED AT https://www.aam-us.org AND ANY RELATED SERVICES, SOFTWARE FUNCTIONALITY, DISCUSSION FORA, RESOURCES, AND/OR OTHER MATERIALS LOCATED THEREON (collectively, the “Site”). AAM IS WILLING TO LICENSE TO YOU THE RIGHT TO USE THE SITE ONLY ON THE CONDITION THAT YOU AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT, YOU ARE HEREBY INSTRUCTED TO STOP USE OF THE SITE. 

1.  LICENSE GRANT. Subject to your continued compliance with the express terms and conditions of this Agreement, AAM hereby provides to you a revocable, limited, royalty-free, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and non-sublicenseable license to access and use the Site solely for your personal or internal business purposes. You may print materials and information from the Site solely for your personal or internal business purposes, provided that all hard copies contain all copyright and other applicable notices contained in such materials. All rights not expressly granted under this Agreement are hereby reserved.  Accordingly, you are hereby prohibited from using the Site in any manner that is not expressly and unambiguously authorized by the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

2. USER CONTENT. The Site may contain certain features and interactive functionality (each, a “User Content Area”) that allow you to post and/or upload to the Site comments or other user generated content (collectively, “User Content”). To the extent the Site contains any such User Content Area, you hereby agree that you will not upload, post, display, or transmit any of the following in any User Content Area:

  • User Content that violates or infringes in any way upon the rights of others, including any statements which may defame, harass, stalk or threaten others;
  • User Content that is offensive to the online community, including, without limitation, expressions of obscenity, bigotry, racism, abusiveness, vulgarity or profanity.
  • User Content that violates any law or engages in any activity that would constitute any criminal offense or give rise to any civil liability;
  • User Content which contains advertising or any solicitation with respect to products and/or services;
  • User Content in which you impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, any AAM employee, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
  • User Content that interferes with any other user’s right to privacy;
  • User Content, software or other materials which contain a virus or other harmful or disruptive component;
  • Unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam” or any other form of solicitation; or
  • User content that violates some other contractual or fiduciary rights, duties or agreements by which you are bound;
  • User Content protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, rights of publicity or other proprietary right of any third party (collectively, “Third Party Rights”) without the prior express written permission of the applicable right holder.  The burden of determining that all User Content is not subject to any Third Party Rights rests exclusively with you under all circumstances.  Accordingly, you shall be solely liable for any or damage or costs resulting from any User Content that actually or alleged infringes any Third Party Rights.  Any person determined by AAM in its sole discretion to have violated any Third Party Rights may be barred from submitting or posting any further User Content.

AAM hereby reserves the right to edit, modify and/or remove any User Content posted, submitted and/or uploaded to the Site in its sole discretion. You hereby agree that the foregoing restrictions set forth this Section 2 shall also apply to any User Content that you post, submit and/or upload to any social media or other webpage directly accessible through the Site. Moreover, you hereby agree that you are solely responsible for any liability arising from or related to your use of any User Content Area and/or any of your User Content.

3. LICENSE TO USE USER CONTENT. You hereby agree that you have no proprietary interest in any User Content Area. You retain ownership of your rights in any User Content you post to the Site, subject to the rights that you grant to us as described in this Section 3.  By submitting User-Content to a  User Content Area or by otherwise using the Site to transmit or display any User-Content, you automatically grant AAM a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable and sublicensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, transmit, perform, and display such content or information (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate such content into other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed for the full term of any rights that may exist in such content or information.  At any time, you may modify or remove from the Site any User Content, including, without limitation, text, photos, graphics, audio or video that you have submitted or made available for inclusion on or through the Site. Your removal of such User Content from the Site will terminate AAM’s license to such User Content. Notwithstanding the foregoing license, you hereby agree that by merely permitting your User Content to be posted, displayed, submitted and/or uploaded to the Site, AAM shall not be considered a publisher of such User Content under any circumstances, and is merely functioning as an intermediary to enable you to post, display, submit and/or uploaded any User Content. In addition, you also hereby agree that AAM has no control over the extent to which any User Content may be used, modified and/or distributed by any party or person once such content is posted, displayed, submitted and/or uploaded on the Site. Moreover, AAM assumes no responsibility for the deletion of or failure to store any User Content.

4. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES.  By downloading, accessing, or using the Site, you represent and warrant that (i) you are at least 18 years of age or the legal age of majority, whichever is greater; (ii) you will at all times provide true, accurate, current, and complete information when submitting information to AAM through the Site; (iii) you will at all times comply with the terms and conditions of this Agreement including, without limitation, the terms set forth in Sections 1 (License Grant) and 2 (User Content); (iv) you have all necessary rights to make any User Content; and (v) that none of your User Content will violate any right(s) of a third party including, without limitation, any privacy, publicity, intellectual property, confidentiality and/or employment right. Any breach of the foregoing representations and warranties entitles AAM to immediately terminate this Agreement and/or seek any and all remedies available at law or equity. If you do not agree to any term or condition, you should not access or otherwise use the Site.

5.  USER NAME HANDLING POLICY. Registration for access to and use of the Site may require both a user name and a password or adherence to other particular access requirements as designated by AAM in its sole discretion from time to time. You hereby agree to consider your user name and password as confidential information and not to disclose such information to any third party without the prior express written consent of AAM, which may be withheld in its sole discretion. You shall immediately notify AAM if you suspect or become aware of any loss or theft of your password or any unauthorized use of your user name and password. You are solely liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure (whether inadvertent or intentional) to comply with these obligations.

6. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS. This Agreement provides only a limited license to access and use the Site in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.  Accordingly, you hereby agree that AAM transfers no ownership or intellectual property interest or title in and to the Site to you or anyone else in connection with your use of the Site. All text, graphics, user interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, sounds, artwork, computer code (including html code), programs, software, products, information, and documentation as well as the design, structure, selection, coordination, expression, “look and feel,” and arrangement of any content contained on or available through the Site (except for User Content) are exclusively owned, controlled, and/or licensed by AAM or its members, parent(s), licensors, or affiliates. The AMERICAN ALLIANCE OF MUSEUMS, the American Alliance of Museums logo, and all other names, logos, marks, and icons identifying AAM, its members, affiliates and/or subsidiaries, and any of their events, programs, products, and/or services, are owned exclusively by AAM, and any use of such marks without the prior express written permission of AAM is hereby expressly prohibited.

7.  PRIVACY POLICY. AAM may collect and use personally identifiable information, including, without limitation, your name, phone number and email address (collectively, “PII”), in connection with your access to and use of the Site.  Accordingly, please review AAM’s Privacy Policy found at https://www.aam-us.org/privacy-policy for a summary of AAM’s practices related to the collection and use of PII.

8. E-COMMERCE. AAM may in its sole discretion make available on the Site an e-commerce section that provides you with an opportunity to view and/or purchase certain items, including, without limitation, various books and other professional publications (collectively, “Products”). Additional terms may apply to all purchases of Products on the Site (“Additional Terms”). These Additional Terms may be accessed and viewed on the Website located at https://www.aam-us.org/. You hereby agree that you will be bound by and fully comply with any and all Additional Terms.  In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the terms of this Agreement and the Additional Terms, the latter terms shall control only with respect to the subject matter thereof.

9. LINKS TO OTHER SITES AND THIRD PARTY CONTENT. AAM may in its sole discretion provide on the Site links to certain websites or online social networks (or pages) owned and controlled by third parties (collectively, “Third Party Sites”). These Third Party Sites have not necessarily been reviewed by AAM and are owned, controlled and/or maintained solely by third parties over whom AAM exercises no control. In addition, AAM may in its sole discretion provide content on the Site that is owned by third parties (“Third Party Content”). Such Third Party Content has not necessarily been reviewed by AAM and is created, edited, published, maintained and made available by third parties over whom AAM exercises no control. Accordingly, AAM hereby expressly disclaims and shall not have any liability or responsibility for (i) any Third Party Content appearing on the Site; or (ii) the content, the materials, the accuracy of the information, and/or the quality of the products or services provided by, available through, or advertised on Third Party Sites accessible through links on the Site. Moreover, the Third Party Sites and Third Party Content do not imply an endorsement with respect to any third party, any content, any website, network, or page, or the products or services provided by any third party.   

10. DISCLAIMER. THE SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS-IS” BASIS AND MAY INCLUDE ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR OTHER INACCURACIES. AAM MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE, AND HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OR ANY OTHER IMPLIED WARRANTY UNDER THE UNIFORM COMPUTER INFORMATION TRANSACTIONS ACT AS ENACTED BY ANY STATE.  AAM ALSO MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT THE SITE WILL OPERATE ERROR-FREE, UNINTERRUPTED, OR IN A MANNER THAT WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS AND/OR NEEDS. THEREFORE, YOU ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK REGARDING THE QUALITY AND/OR PERFORMANCE OF THE SITE.

11. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. IN NO EVENT SHALL AAM BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND/OR THIS AGREEMENT WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE.

12.SUBMISSIONS.  Any submission, review or other feedback (collectively, “Submissions”) by you on or through the Site that is received by AAM will be deemed to include a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, transferable, sublicensable and non-exclusive right and license for AAM to adopt, publish, reproduce, disseminate, transmit, distribute, copy, use, create derivative works, and display (in whole or in part) worldwide, or act on any such Submission without additional approval or consideration, in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed for the full term of any rights that may exist in such content, and you hereby waive any claim to the contrary.

13. INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. You acknowledge that any breach, threatened or actual, of this Agreement, including, without limitation, violations or infringement of AAM’s intellectual property or proprietary rights, may cause irreparable injury to AAM, whereby such injury would not be quantifiable in monetary damages, and AAM would not have an adequate remedy at law. In the event of such injury or potential for such injury, you therefore hereby agree that AAM shall be entitled, in addition to other available remedies, to seek and be awarded an injunction or other appropriate equitable relief from a court of competent jurisdiction restraining any breach, threatened or actual, of your obligations under any provision of this Agreement.

14. ENFORCING SECURITY. Any actual or attempted use of the Site by you in violation of this Agreement may result in criminal and/or civil prosecution, including, without limitation, punishment under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 under U.S. federal law. AAM reserves the right in its sole discretion to review, monitor, and/or record any information relating to your use of the Site (“User Information”) without any prior notice to or permission from you, including, without limitation, by archiving content and/or communications submitted to and/or sent by you through the Site. AAM may share any User Information we obtain from you with any law enforcement organization in connection with any investigation or prosecution of possible criminal or unlawful activity. AAM will also disclose User Information as required by any court order and/or subpoena. In addition, AAM hereby reserves the right in its sole direction to at any time and without notice modify, suspend, terminate, and/or interrupt operation of or access to the Site, or any portion thereof, in order to protect the Site, AAM, or the business interests of AAM and/or its members and affiliates.

15. TERM AND TERMINATION. This Agreement will take effect at the time you click “I ACCEPT” or begin using the Site, whichever is earliest. This Agreement will terminate automatically if (i) you fail to comply with its terms and conditions; or (ii) cease all use of the Site. Termination will be effective without notice. In addition, AAM may in its sole discretion terminate this Agreement upon notice to you for any or no reason. Upon termination of this Agreement, any and all right(s) to use the Site shall immediately cease and you must promptly return to AAM (at the address listed below) all tangible embodiments of the Site in your possession or control.  Sections 2-6 and 8-19 will survive the termination of this Agreement.

16. WAIVER & SEVERABILITY. AAM’s failure to insist on upon strict performance of any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement by you will not operate as a waiver of any subsequent or other default or failure of performance. If any part of this Agreement is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law or court order including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and the liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision(s) that most clearly matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of this Agreement shall continue in effect.

17. COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT POLICY AND TAKE DOWN PROCEDURES:  If you have a good faith belief that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or that your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, you can submit a Notice of Claimed Infringement (NOCI) to the designated agent of the American Alliance of Museums (http://www.copyright.gov/onlinesp/list/y_agents.html), by providing such agent with the following information:

  • a physical or electronic signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest that is allegedly infringed;
  • identification or description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed. If you are asserting infringement of an intellectual property right other than copyright, please specify the intellectual property right at issue (for example, trademark or patent);
  • identification or description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Site, with enough detail that we may find it on the Site;
  • your address, telephone number, and email address;
  • a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material complained of is not authorized by the copyright or intellectual property owner, its agent, or the law;
  • a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner’s behalf.
  • Our agent designated to receive claims of copyright or other intellectual property infringement may be contacted as follows:

By mail: American Alliance of Museums
2451 Crystal Drive, Suite 1005
Arlington, VA 22202
Attn: Chief Program Officer

By email: membership@aam-us.org

We have adopted and implemented a policy that provides for the termination in appropriate circumstances of the accounts of users who repeatedly infringe copyrights or other intellectual property rights of ours and/or others.

Repeat Infringer Policy:

We will terminate user accounts that have been the subject of three (3) separate DMCA notices. In the event a user’s materials are removed due to a DMCA notice and then subsequently restored due to the filing of a DMCA counter-notification, we will treat the underlying DMCA notice as withdrawn.

We reserve the right to terminate user accounts that are the subject of fewer than three (3) DMCA notices in appropriate circumstances, such as where the user has a history of violating or willfully disregarding the terms of this Agreement.

18. MISCELLANEOUS. This Agreement has been made in and will be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the District of Columbia. No joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and AAM as a result of this Agreement or your utilization of the Site.  Headings are for convenience only.  This Agreement, any Additional Terms and AAM’s Privacy Policy represent the entire agreement between you and AAM with respect to your use of the Site, and hereby supersede all prior and/or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral, or written between you and AAM with respect to the Site.  You may not assign or transfer any rights under this Agreement without the prior express written consent of AAM, which may be withheld in AAM’s sole discretion.  Please note that AAM reserves in its sole discretion the right to change the terms and conditions of this Agreement by posting a revised Agreement to the Site and/or mailing (including via email) notice thereof to you.  In addition, AAM may in its sole discretion, add, modify, and/or delete any aspect, functionality, service, program or other feature of the Site.  You hereby agree that AAM is under no obligation to upgrade, enhance, and/or modify the Site under any circumstances.  Your continued use of the Site following any announced change to this Agreement will be deemed to conclusively signal your acceptance of any change to this Agreement.  Therefore, you should immediately stop any and all use of the Site if you do not agree any with any changes.

19. CONTACT INFORMATION.  If you have any questions regarding this Agreement and/or the Site, please contact AAM at Attention: Chief Operating Officer, 2451 Crystal Drive, Suite 1005, Arlington, VA 22202 (Mailing Address), (866) 226-2150 (phone), or membership@aam-us.org (email).

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